‘Stick to My Guns’ by Dylan Marlowe & Riley Green - Lyrics & Meaning

The first of two collaborations that appear on Dylan Marlowe's 2024 debut album, Mid-Twenties Crisis, ‘Stick to My Guns’ sees the Georgia up-and-comer teaming up with Alabama hitmaker, Riley Green, for a down-home anthem that oozes Southern pride.

The track, which was released in tandem with the full album, pivots around a witty play on the titular phrase. Dylan Marlowe and Riley Green outline how they'll be ‘sticking to their guns’ in the sense of staying true to what they believe in - which, incidentally, involves guns, as both artists are known to be big fans of hunting.

Dylan Marlowe first teased ‘Stick to My Guns’ back in August 2023 via an acoustic snippet shared across socials, with Marlowe admitting he didn't feel it would ever be a Country Radio hit, due to the political undertones associated with the gun references.

The sinuous, undulating instrumental consists of a foreboding electric guitar riff and a deliberate, emphatic drum pattern, with Dylan Marlowe's distinctive country-punk vocals entering the fray to give the defiant hook an extra layer of gravity and ferocity.

Riley Green's delivery carries the weight and gentle rasp we've become accustomed to hearing on the airwaves over the years, giving the track a slightly old-timey, retro-leaning ambience that mirrors the traditionally-minded narrative at its heart.

“I'm sick and damn tired of the man on the TV telling me how to live

It gets a little old when you're always being told you gotta do that and this

Turns out there's a lot of folks that don't like all the things I love

Good thing this ain't for those folks, yeah this song's the one”

Dylan Marlowe opens ‘Stick to My Guns’ by outlining the crux of the track, which is a general sense of feeling jaded by contemporary society's attempts to dictate how they should act. Marlowe hints that he doesn't agree with all of the policies and principles put forward by today's ‘thought police’, perhaps taking aim at those who criticise hunting as an example of animal cruelty. He admits he's aware that some of “the things I love” upset people across social media, before offering a staunch rebuttal to those detractors, stressing that this song isn't meant for them.

“Where I stick to these boots I'm putting down, stick to this cross around my neck

Stick to these roots stuck in the ground, the way I was raised ain't let me down yet

Yeah, the world is changing, I sure as hell ain't, son

So I'll stay right here with a rifle and a beer ‘til the good Lord comes

And stick to my guns”

The hook finds Dylan Marlowe and Riley Green doubling down on the country way of life that they grew up on, nodding to their penchant for a good ol’ pair of boots and their belief in Christianity. They mention how ‘the world is changing’, before underlining that they won't be changing with it and relinquishing their values simply to appease people. They're going to ‘stick to their guns’, both in terms of holding onto their morals, as well as keeping their beloved arsenal of hunting rifles.

“I am who I am, yeah, wrong or right

I don't give a damn or apologise

I'm proud of this passed-down way of life

Yeah, buddy, that's why”

Riley Green's verse is brief but clear in its message, reminding listeners he's not going to alter who he is for anybody - and he certainly won't be apologising for his worldview.

“Yeah, just like my daddy taught me to

It's what I'll do”

They extend the message in the chorus, which states that their pride in this lifestyle comes from the fact that it was passed down to them by their parents, and their parents before them. Both artists imply they intend to continue this tradition with their children.

When Dylan Marlowe shared the first acoustic snippet of ‘Stick to My Guns’ back in August 2023, the fast-emerging artist described it as “the realest song I've ever written”, as well as wryly commenting that it'll probably never go to Country Radio, potentially due to the somewhat politically charged undertones of the track.

During a 2024 interview with Holler, Dylan Marlowe explained how Riley Green ended up featuring on ‘Stick to My Guns’, “We knew we wanted him to be on the song originally, since the beginning...We probably wrote it two years ago, maybe, and a few months ago, Dallas, who's my manager, he's really good buddies with Riley, and I'd met him a few times. We had opened a few shows for him, and he's awesome”.

Marlowe recalled, “He's down to earth. We sent it over to him and asked if he'd hop on it, and thankfully, he said, ‘Yes’. He crushed his verse. It's the perfect mesh for that song, for sure”.

“I'm sick and damn tired of the man on the TV telling me how to live

It gets a little old when you're always being told you gotta do that and this

Turns out there's a lot of folks that don't like all the things I love

Good thing this ain't for those folks, yeah this song's the one

-

Where I stick to these boots I'm putting down, stick to this cross around my neck

Stick to these roots stuck in the ground, the way I was raised ain't let me down yet

Yeah, the world is changing, I sure as hell ain't, son

So I'll stay right here with a rifle and a beer ‘til the good Lord comes

And stick to my guns

-

I am who I am, yeah, wrong or right

I don't give a damn or apologise

I'm proud of this passed-down way of life

Yeah, buddy, that's why

-

I stick to these boots I'm putting down, stick to this cross around my neck

Stick to these roots stuck in the ground, the way I was raised ain't let me down yet

Yeah, the world is changing, I sure as hell ain't, son

So I'll stay right here with a rifle and a beer ‘til the good Lord comes

And stick to my guns

Yeah, I'm gonna stick to my guns

-

Yeah, just like my daddy taught me to

It's what I'll do

-

I stick to these boots I'm putting down, stick to this cross around my neck

Stick to these roots stuck in the ground, the way I was raised ain't let me down yet

Yeah, the world is changing, I sure as hell ain't, son

So I'll stay right here with a rifle and a beer ‘til the good Lord comes

And stick to my guns

I'm gonna stick to my guns

I'll stick to my guns”

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